GAO, Commerce Disagree on Findings

BUT AGREE MORE INFO, DATA NEEDED ON IT LABOR

The General Accounting Office recently released its comments on a U.S. Department of Commerce study of the availability of information technology workers.

The GAO reviewed the methodology used by Commerce in preparing its 1997 report America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers, and determined that there were "serious analytical and methodological weaknesses that undermine the credibility of its conclusion that a shortage of IT workers exists."

GAO states that its criticisms "should not necessarily lead to a conclusion that there is no shortage. Instead, as the Commerce report declares, additional information and data are needed to more accurately characterize the IT labor market now and in the future."

In response, the Department of Commerce observed that its report was "an initial attempt to stimulate discussion on an issue with potentially serious implications for U.S. competitiveness. It was never intended to be an exhaustive analysis of the IT labor market." Commerce argues that for GAO to reach its conclusion "without considering the stated purpose and scope of the report—as well as the totality of the information contained in the report—is unwarranted."

GAO's two major concerns were:

1. The sources of information on which the Commerce report was based.

GAO contends that the Commerce report cites only four sources of evidence to indicate a tightening labor market for IT workers. In GAO's opinion, that was an insufficient number of references.

In addition, Commerce worked with the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) in producing the report and used an ITAA survey of its members to illustrate the potential shortage of IT workers. GAO was concerned that the ITAA's survey response rate of 14 percent was inadequate to estimate the number of unfilled IT jobs. GAO suggested that a 75 percent response rate would be more indicative.

In the Department of Commerce's response to the GAO letter, Commerce took exception to the GAO's findings. Commerce notes that the sources of information in the report were more extensive than suggested by GAO. It also called the expectation of a higher response rate to the ITAA survey "unrealistic."

2. The use of available data in determining the current scale of the IT worker pool and rate of growth of the available workers.

According to GAO, Commerce based its analysis of the demand on job growth on college graduates with bachelor degrees in computer and information sciences. There are not enough workers with those degrees to fill available or future positions. However, GAO contends that while Commerce noted that other likely workers include college graduates with degrees in other fields, workers with advanced degrees or associate degrees, and those who graduated from certification programs, it did not include those workers in analysis of the supply of workers.

Commerce has responded that it acknowledged in the report that many IT workers acquire their skills through alternative education and training paths.

Both the Commerce report and the GAO comments are on the Internet as Adobe Acrobat (pdf) files. America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers is available at www.ta.doc.gov/reports.htm. The GAO comments (HEHS-98-106) are available at www.gao.gov/ new.items/he98106.pdf